Proposal cuts off state aid

MADISON, Wis. -- With Wisconsin's economy in a downturn, rookie Gov. Scott McCallum came up with what he thought was a bold idea. A lot of other politicians thought it was just dumb.

The Republican proposed cutting off state aid to local governments to impose some financial discipline on what he called the "big spenders."

The idea, first broached in January, was met with rallies and outraged editorials. Out came the buttons promoting "Anybody But McCallum."

Politicians and others warned the plan would mean closed libraries, slower 911 response times, snow piled up on the streets.

"I think the one brain cell he has is lonesome," said Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson, who is the brother of McCallum's predecessor, Tommy Thompson, and is running against McCallum as a Libertarian.

The results have not been pretty: A survey last month of 600 residents found 40 percent viewed McCallum unfavorably, compared with 21 percent in August.

Last week, the idea was all but rejected by the Legislature, and the governor, who is serving out the remainder of Thompson's term and will stand for election in his own right in November, acknowledged it may have been too much, too soon.

But "I had to be bold. I had to be dramatic in getting us to change the system," he said in an interview.

McCallum, 51, took office just over a year ago after 14 years as Thompson's lieutenant governor. He assumed the top job when Thompson left to become U.S. health secretary.

Wisconsin was soon confronted with the downturn that hit most of the country particularly hard after Sept. 11, with the state facing a budget gap of $1.1 billion and the unemployment rate climbing to 5.8 percent in February, the highest level in 11 years.

The governor proposed phasing out by 2004 all $1 billion in state revenue-sharing money that helps poorer municipalities provide services like libraries and police protection.

"When you hear the complaints of big spenders, recognize that I am not asking local government to do anything different than what state government is expected to do: Live within their means," McCallum said at the time.

He has also proposed cuts in state spending, and use all of Wisconsin's 25-year share of the national tobacco settlement. He has refused to raise taxes or cut money for schools, winning praise from the state's largest teachers union, which typically supports Democrats.

A Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial cartoon portrayed "Scott McClueless, Accidental Boy Governor" in a high chair, pushing a bowl labeled "budget mess" into the lap of local government. "Another problem solved!" McCallum says in the cartoon.

Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist, a Democrat, branded McCallum a hypocrite, considering the state owns 30 planes, three of which were bought last year for $9 million. McCallum later proposed selling half of the air fleet, though aides said it was not in response to the criticism.

McCallum also earned one Democratic lawmaker's "Golden Turkey Award" for using a state plane to fly 41 miles at a cost of up to $666, when driving would have been cheaper and almost as fast.

His spending of $850 for silver-colored souvenir coins featuring his grinning portrait has also been attacked as wasteful.

All four of his Democratic opponents for governor have criticized his plan, including the two who are considered his top challengers, Rep. Thomas Barrett and state Attorney General James Doyle.

In recent weeks, the GOP-led Assembly has scaled back the governor's cuts to local aid, and the Democratic-controlled Senate has left the money completely intact. Both plans rely on other spending cuts and tobacco money, and neither measure raises taxes.

In addition to Wisconsin's economic woes, legislative staffers are under investigation on suspicion of illegal campaigning on state time, and a few public relations blunders have not helped McCallum, either.

After a live TV interview in which he was repeatedly questioned about his proposal's effect on libraries, McCallum called the reporter a vulgar name when he thought the microphone was turned off.

"Politics is like comedy: Timing is everything. And he certainly has had to battle with things beyond his control," said GOP state Rep. John Gard, co-chairman of the Legislature's budget committee. "I think anybody who's governor needs a little time. Tommy needed it, and I think Governor McCallum is working hard to get there."